Solving Helga's Puzzle
by Moonchildaesthetic
Summary: The two fourth graders have just saved the neighborhood from ruins, but will Arnold eventually catch onto Helga's games and realize that they were meant to be?
1. Chapter 1

Arnold stood next to Helga with a look of confusion plastered onto his face. They had just completed their mission of rescuing the neighborhood from ruins, and they were both mentally reminded of what took place earlier that day on the FTI rooftop. He shifted nervously towards Helga while his left foot traced the sand on the ground. Arnold was aware that he was slowly catching on to her acts; and he was determined to solve the mystery that was 'her'. He rubbed his arms in uncertainty of how he really felt about the scowl-wearing, fist punching girl that had just performed an amazing deed.

"So... Pretty crazy day. Huh?" He managed to say. Helga turned to Arnold after hearing him speak, there was something else her blue eyes weren't revealing to him. "Uhh yeah... Umm about all that stuff I said Arnold. I was... I was just, I mean it was crazy back there!" Why did she look so nervous? She appeared as though she was trying to push down something that she really had intended to say. "Yeah with all the excitement, I guess we just... We just..." He rubbed his neck in an anxious matter, while trying to hold his composure. Helga's eyes lit up while she held her hands together behind her back, "Got carried away!"

He finally felt himself raise up the slightest as he looked her in the eyes, "You don't actually, uh, love me right?" Her eyes really were pleading something completely different. He was close enough to notice her pupils minimize. "Right!" If he could have possibly gotten any closer, then he would have... "You were just caught up in the heat of the moment... Right?" At this point he was just pressing for her answers. He really had no other option in the first place.

"Right!" Helga spoke once more; her eyes becoming immensely larger by the second. She wore an expression of hope on herself, but yet... She remained nervous just as she was before. Arnold felt himself getting quite flirty, but it was his way of testing Helga. A deviously daring smirk played around on his mouth, "You actually HATE me, don't you?" He felt himself gravitating closer to Helga, but she took a step back to avoid collision. She turned her back to him for a few seconds while his smirk was still present.

Helga lightly snapped her finger while plotting a great idea in her mind. She turned around quite fast and he took note that her sweet smile was replaced with her signature scowl. "OF COURSE I HATE YOU, YOU STUPID FOOTBALL HEAD. AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT! EVER!" Helga frantically waved her fists around in the air and stormed off as her usual, she eventually disappeared around a building corner. All the while Arnold had remained with his smirk, he could almost see right through her as clear as water. He wanted to continue pressing her for reasonable answers, but she was caught, and had simply left the scene to avoid such revelations about what her best kept secret was.

Arnold shook his head in amazement, "when will she ever break down and admit that she has feelings for me? Maybe if she would just actually confess without taking it back, then she would hear what I have to say about it too."

Helga frolicked away, thinking that she had just got away with murder. She started humming an upbeat tune as she skipped down the city road. She pulled her heart-shaped locket with Arnold's picture out of her pink jumper and began to recite one of her monologues about her so desired love, "Oh Arnold, how I love you so. What I would give to have you see through my blustery exterior and my warm, good-hearted center…" her facial expression turned from happy to annoyed, "… although if you ever WERE to see through my tough act, then all of our fellow classmates would begin to ridicule me for actually having any other feelings than being mean and selfish…" Her eyes softened yet again, "But perhaps I'll be prepared to tell you one day, and although you may be revolted by those certain words spilling from my mouth, just know that I will always love you my dear, even if you don't reciprocate such strong emotions for m-…"

Helga got cut off by heavy breathing coming from a garbage can behind her. She didn't even have to do a double take to know exactly who the annoying wheezing belonged to. Her original scowl slipped back onto her face as the lid slowly began to rise up, she lifted her right fist up and socked Brainy in the face as he tumbled over with the garbage can onto a hidden alleyway. A crash could be heard, but Helga ignored the commotion and continued on her way. -

As Arnold remained in the same spot he was before, his best friend Gerald strode his way over to him. "So, how about a game of basketball?" Gerald slowly spoke. "Well that ball is most definitely flat, wouldn't you say?" exclaimed Arnold. "No, no. it- it's just a little on the off side…" he was trying to find the right words to say. "Wait, wasn't it you telling me earlier to 'stop looking on the bright side'? Arnold playfully fought back. "Well someone has to." Arnold said nothing back, but rather shook his head in agreement to Gerald's statement.

The two boys proceeded to walk along the sidewalk, deciding to head to the Sunset Arms Boardinghouse, where Arnold lives. "So tell me, my man. What was it that you and Helga G. Pataki were talking about back there?" Arnold played around with the hem of his plaid shirt as he spoke, "Well I'd say that it was the normal. It ended with her being her usual self; calling me a football head. So on." "That girl will never change, I'm telling you. There is NO good side to her like you claim there to be." Arnold looked defensively up at his friend, "Well you can't really find out for sure unless you get close enough to really see if it's true… I just know it is, Gerald. I can sense it." Gerald rolled his eyes in annoyance, "whatever you say, Arnold. You're ONE bold kid."


	2. Chapter 2

Helga arrived at her house, not really surprised when she found Miriam passed out, sleeping on the couch. She angrily strode passed her into the kitchen where she also was not surprised when she couldn't find a single trace of food, not even a crumb. "Crimeny, WHY does no one in this house have enough time in their day to even go to the grocery store? What a pathetic excuse for parents that I have. They don't even know that I exist anyway."

Helga glanced out at the window. It had begun to rain mildly, but it was getting increasingly stronger in a matter of seconds. The raindrops hit the window in such a fashion that it made her a little... Sad. It reminded her of streams of tears; sorrow…

There she was, giddying excitedly, as she knew that today marked that first day of school for her. She couldn't make the simple decision on what to pick from her closet, although all she owned were pink jumpers, and white t-shirts. As she struggled to pull the white shirt over her small body, her head popped out, making her blonde hair just slightly static. She skipped out of her room, making her way across the hall and into the bathroom to adjust her messy hair.

"I can't wait to go to preschool and make new friends!" she hummed. Helga carefully descended her way down the stairs as she heard the piano playing. It was her older sister Olga, preparing for her upcoming recital this weekend. As Helga reached the last step, she almost tripped but caught her composure at the last possible second. The little girl walked over to her parents and began tugging on her father's pant leg, "Daddy, who's gonna take me to preschool?" Her father looked down upon his daughter, clearly not paying her much attention, as he was trying to listen to his oldest daughter play the same piece that she was performing for the past hour, "Uhh, in a minute Olga..."

A frown formed on the girls face gradually, "No, I'm Helga, dad. Helga." He looked irritated at the slightest by the small girl who kept interrupting, "Whatever, ehh… go play outside will ya?" Helga was aware that she needed to be to school soon, otherwise she would be late. She couldn't afford being late on the first day!

Her mother spoke, "oh honey, I'm just so proud of you. Concert pianist at 15, class valedictorian." She lightly touched Olga's face in affection. Bob Pataki chimed it, cutting off what Miriam was about to say next "Yeah! And she's won every single stinking spelling bee in the whole darn city! Makes me proud to be a Pataki."

The parents emitted a good-hearted laugh as they patted their daughter's back. Helga turned around and walked the other way, figuring it would most likely be easier to just walk herself there. It couldn't be too terrible of an idea, could it? She paced her way to the kitchen to obtain her Charlie's Angels lunchbox.

She announced her departure to her family, "I'm going to preschool…" she said it with uncertainty at first. But when she realized that no one had acknowledged her presence, she said it again louder with hostility taking place of her sweet tone of voice, "I'M GOING TO PRESCHOOL!" she heard her parents engaging in a conversation in the background while they warmly chucked.

It was a rainy day; cold, pouring down heavily. She still thought it to be the perfect day, regardless of all the negative events that had already happened. Helga wasn't going to let the slightest misfortunes take her day over… even if she had to walk herself to school, and that it was raining unexceptional amounts of water.

She found herself at the crosswalk nearest her house, alongside some other pedestrians. She shoved her way through so that she could view the upcoming traffic properly. Unfortunately, a speeding car had driven past and covered her limbs in thick mud. Helga shielded her face from the brown slush, but was fairly upset that her clothes were already ruined before school had a chance to start.

The white walking signal appeared on the sign, and she crossed the street along with the other people. Turning a street corner, a stray dog had gotten ahold of her lunchbox with his big jaw. She had attempted to fight back for it, and tried tugging at the miniscule handle with all her might. Instead she had lost the battle and fell to the ground while the dog had kicked its hind legs at her face, allowing mud to leave a trace on her face and pigtails.

Even though she had only the slightest sense of direction to where she was supposed to be, she somehow had found her way to the school. She quickly grew depressed, realizing that all of this had happened to her in less than thirty minutes. A single tear fell from her eye at first, sliding along her cheek. Helga knew that it was impossible to hold in her emotions. More tears fell, stinging her eyes in the process. The fragile girl stood outside the doors, not wanting to grant herself entrance.

Helga faced the windows, but she began to hear a car engine near her. A green Packard pulled up by the road where she was standing, and she flinched preparing for more mud to splash on herself. Helga had been surprised when it came to a halt. The doors shut and suddenly she couldn't feel the cold rain hitting her skin. She looked up to see a turquoise umbrella, and besides it stood a young boy presumably her age. "Hi, nice bow!" he told her while wearing a positive attitude. Helga was dumbfounded, "huh?" the blonde boy spoke again, while releasing the hold from his umbrella. "I said I like your bow, because it's pink like your pants."

The young boy walked forward, to the front entrance of the school and Helga followed, awestruck by his genuine compliment. He pushed the door open to enter inside, while Helga stayed with her face pressed slightly against the foggy window. She felt something inside of her, consuming her whole. Although she couldn't put a word to it. Her insides were melting and she felt that they would seep beneath the surface anytime soon. "Hmm" was all that managed to force its way out of her mouth.

Just a few hours had passed by, and Helga already gained back her optimism… all because of that boy who had just noticed her a few hours ago. It was snack time and the supervisor had given the children graham crackers to keep their hunger from persisting any further.

There across the room was the blonde boy and another fellow classmate playing about, they were laughing and kept doing a motion with their thumbs. Helga sat up straightly in her chair, while she adjusted her pink bow and looked at him with a fiery passion in her eyes. She was distracted by his god-like features.

In the midst of her reaching down to snack on a cracker, she snapped out of her clouded conscious and took note that a child next to her, Harold, had stolen her crackers. She looked over to him and noticed him laughing as he was shoving the snacks mercilessly into his big mouth. A giant wave of depression washed over her as she had more bad experience at her first day of school. She was about to whimper… before that little boy had appeared out of nowhere and smiled his adoring, rich, smile.

"Want mine?" he asked her as he extended his arm outward to place them on the table in front of her. Helga said nothing as she nodded her head, accepting his kindness. He turned around to return back to his seat as he warmly waved at her, Helga felt that she had never in her life smiled as big as she did then. He was clearly something special to her already, and they had just barely introduced one another.

"Hmm", the noise accidently slipped from her mouth, exposed for all to hear. She clasps her hands together and held them up to her face in a comforting matter. She was disrupted from her thoughts by her classmates mocking and ridiculing her, they all started laughing in an unfriendly way that made her uncomfortable. Helga shifted in her seat, not knowing what else to do.

The young boy stopped talking to his tall-haired friend when he heard cackling from the side of the room that she was sitting on. Helga looked over to him for an answer, her eyes were pleading and calling desperately for him to come to the rescue and make everything better. His green eyes met with her blue ones. They both were uncertain of the situation.

Before they knew it, Helga had stood up from her chair and approached the Harold, clearly not pleasant. She used all the anger that had been building up to the leading events of the day to push him to the floor in an instant. Helga knew very little of what she was about to do, it just kind of… happened.

"Quick laughing geek-bait, or you'll have to answer to ol' Betsy and th- and the five avengers!" she bunched her fists up and dramatically waved them in front of his face. Harold had been shocked by this child's hidden powers and ferocity, he was struggling to find the correct words without making her explode any further. "Old who and that five what?" he asked her with uncertainty of the outcome. She was quick to answer back though, "My fists stupid! That's their names!" Helga was ready to pounce on the boy, being tired of constant ridicule from everyone around her.

He looked at her, with his face scrunching up in confusion, "Your fists have names?" he then put his hands up to his head to exaggerate his bafflement. "Ahh! You're confusing me!"

She was hurt and didn't know how else to express such torment brought upon her. She knew that she was bound to react any second, she just didn't know when. Harold make gagging noises as Helga's small feet made contact with his stomach, making him almost hurl. The fragile girl carrying a big ego over her shoulders had walked off like she had witnessed nothing.

"I'm the boss around here. Got it?" Helga looked back to her classmates, who had all been simmered down after the first incident. They looked at her with blankly scared expression on their face and nodded their heads up and down, not wanting to stand in her path.

Things had continued on their way for the next hour. Helga still hadn't calmed down from her initial burst of fury, and children progressively got more frightened by her act. "That's right! I'm Helga G. Pataki!" Harold had budged in, cutting off whatever she was about to announce next, "What's the 'G' stand for?" Helga glanced over to him as she paced herself to the right of his art set. "None of your beeswax…" she spat in his face while dipping her pointer finger in a paint bucket.

Now get busy with your finger painting before I make you wear it!" Helga smeared a large dot of lavender paint on his face.

Harold was semi-frightened by this child yet, but did as she commanded, "Okay… Madame Fortress mommy!" he added in the last part of the sentence under his breath, in hopes that she wouldn't be able to hear him. Helga continued on her way across the room, hoping to observe Arnold from a safe distance, she didn't want to accidently hurt him with her words as well. She had halted in her tracks as another classmate of hers, Sid, stood in front of her for a few seconds with a cheeky grin on his face while holding his drawing. Her grim attitude refused to vanish, and so Sid scurried away from her.

Her features had softened when her eyes landed on a particular someone. There he was. The object of her affections, Arnold himself. His back was turned to her however, as he was stroking his paintbrush back and forth against the cream canvas. She felt true peace at last, seeing him already made the atmosphere better than it had been before. Without giving in to her cruelness, she felt a sheepish grin creep on to her face.

Before he had any further chances of turning around and noticing her existence, Helga dropped and hid behind a nearby garbage can. She wanted to get so close to him… wanted to be with him… even though it was clearly a long shot, since she had just met him that day.

She continued to reach into her pink jumper and pull out a heart-shaped paper with Arnold's class picture pasted onto the front. She gleamed at it and sighed, "I love you Arnold and I want to marry you…" she exclaimed silently as she embraced her crafted art of him. She traced his picture with her fingertip as she heard obnoxious wheezing begin to approach her.

She looked up to see Brainy, another classmate, as he was widely grinning at her impressive words. She decked him, knocking off his glasses and forcing him into the garbage can. Helga rolled her eyes in annoyance.

This blonde boy had already left an incredibly indelible impression on Helga and it was just a mere day. He was dreamy, he was intelligent and kind. She very much admired all of those traits. She looked at him one last time, to ensure herself that she had not imagined a person of such quality. "Hmmm."

Helga's thoughts got instantly cleared as the rain had persisted onward, this time lighting and thunder even entered the picture. Rain always did remind her of the very first day that her and Arnold met. She hated it. She hated being reminded of the monster that she had become. She wanted to change so badly, but it wasn't that easy. She had a reputation to maintain at her school. She was Helga G. Pataki.


	3. Chapter 3

Helga slumped against the wall and continued on with her moping. She had cringed and balled up her fists at how her nature was presented. How was she ever going to have the capability to express her true feelings to the boy who had always meant so much to her?

"He probably thinks nothing of me… not even as an acquaintance. I mean, every time I push so far to get close to him, I just end up pushing him farther and farther away from me." Helga mumbled to herself as she attempted blowing her bangs out of her forehead, ultimately ending in more hair covering her face.

All her plans seemed to end up going against her; not working out in her favor. She was running out of schemes and ideas. She was on the verge of giving up. Helga sighed in frustration, "Should a fourth grader even be contemplating about things like this?"

A single tear had rolled down her cheek, "He doesn't like me, he never HAS liked me, and never WILL like me." She embraced her head under her arms in defeat. "Maybe things like this were never meant to happen to someone as bad as me; Arnold doesn't deserve to know someone as ugly and mean as me. I'm a MONSTER to him. I could not break down my wall for him even if it was a life or death situation…" -

Arnold and Gerald had been quite pensive, deciding what activity they could do next. Gerald put his hand up to his mouth, thinking, "Well Arnold, if we REALLY have nothing better to do, then why not go skip rocks down by the lake?"

Arnold had shrugged, simply not knowing what else they could be doing. The sun had not come out, but it was still pretty chilly. They were among one of the few people actually outside. It made the atmosphere more silent and eerie.

"Sure." Was all Arnold could muster up. He didn't know what else to tell him. He found interest in a small pebble on the ground and began kicking it with the tip of his shoe. He was still thinking about Helga G. Pataki. She was mysterious; she was different. He just couldn't figure out why though. Why did he find her so amusing?

The boys made their way to the nearest lake, which wasn't so far away after all. Arnold, still confused about earlier, had sat on a patch of dried up grass, and Gerald followed as he did so.

"Oh man, Puh-LEASE tell me you're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about." His friend said while looking over to the football headed boy in concern. When he didn't get any sort of response from Arnold, he slumped forward and sighed heavily.

The blonde boy spoke at last, "Gerald... I just... I dont know what I should do about it. I really would like to get to know her better, but with her always pushing everyone else away from her, I think its going to be more difficult than I ever imagined. She's interesting to me. One minute Helga might say my name in a tone that sounds excited or surprised, if anything. But the next minute she might be mad at me and snap."

He tucked his knees under his arms and rested his head gently on top of them. He gazed off into the vibrant blue water, its hue reminded him of Helga's eyes... Full of life. "She's unpredictable Gerald."

Gerald was silent for a few moments, "... Are you trying to imply what I think you're trying to imply Arnold? Are you catching that Chinese flu?" He dramatically placed his hand on Arnold's forehead.

Arnold swatted him playfully, "No, im not sick in any way. Honestly, it's just something that's been on my mind for awhile now."

He began shaking his head, "Hmm, hmm, HMM. Who ever would've guessed that a boy would begin to fall in love with his bully?" Gerald picked up a nearby rock and tossed it into the river. It skipped a few times before it disappeared under the water's surface. He then looked over to Arnold, who still looked like he was thinking. "I dont think that's how it works my man. It just doesn't seem right."

Arnold stood up slowly, trying to balance himself. He observed his surroundings and found a couple engaging in a conversation with one another on a park bench. He didn't have any idea what they were talking about, but he noticed that they were holding hands and looked happy. He smiled warmly at imagining Helga connecting with him like that.

Oddly enough, the two blondes looked fairly familiar in some way or another. Arnold spoke up, "Well maybe it doesn't seem right to you, but it seems right to me."-

"PHEEBS! PHEEBS! I need you to come over to my house as soon as possible!". Helga was practically shouting over the phone to her friend. "Coming!", Phoebe said in her usual tone of voice. When Helga said that something needed to be done, she did it without hesitation. She was her personal assistant.

Within ten minutes of commanding her to come to the house, Phoebe was politely knocking on her door. Helga was already sitting on the last step waiting for her, knowing that her parents wouldn't answer the door. She opened it with much force and Phoebe was startled. "How serious is the situation?"

Helga's action spoke the words for her as she grabbed Phoebe's hands roughly and led her up the stairs.

In a matter of seconds, the girls were already up in Helga's room sitting on her bed. "So what's wrong? Does the urgency of me being here have to do with _ice-cream?"_ She leaned towards Helga and whispered the secret pet name as if someone was eavesdropping.

"OF COURSE IT DOES! CRIMINY HE'S CATCHING ON TO MY WAYS! He's going to find out sooner or later and I have to do something to prevent him from realizing it!" Helga threw her hands up in the air and paced around her room. Her least favorite memory of Stinky, Harold, Sid, and Rhonda laughing at her was worming it's way into her head.

She couldn't allow that to happen all over again. She calmed down and sat back on her bed besides Phoebe. "My biggest nightmare is about to unravel right in front of me. I can already hear everyone taunting and laughing at me." The pig tailed girl curled up into the fetal position.

Her friend tried her best to comfort her and assure her otherwise, "Helga, maybe now it's time to tell ice cream about your biggest secret. After all, maybe that would be the bes-"

She cut off Phoebe's sentence before she could end it. "That's the problem! I already spilt the beans on the rooftop directly to his face! He doesn't need too much time to figure out and piece the puzzle pieces together! He's already more than half way there!"

Phoebe was trying to think of helpful advice to give Helga when she realized... She had none. She faced Helga but didn't speak. It was too late for either of them to collaborate on some cheap scheme together. There was no valid point to it anymore. This was the moment that Helga had been dreading to happen for years to come.

"Helga. I'm afraid to inform you that there is no use to devising a plan this time around. Too much has been revealed to him. There's no turning back now, all those years spent coming up with backup plans has come to an end. Now you have to face the reality. He's already close to solving your puzzle."

Helga left her bed and gazed warily out of her window. She put her hands on the window's ledge and sighed. The Asian child had stared at her questioningly. Helga bowed her head and turned to look at Phoebe with extreme worry in her eyes. "I never expected this day to come so soon."


End file.
